Question

Describe the functioning of the Grand Alliance during World War II.

Answer 1

It was mostly a convenient friendship with each of the "Big Three" contributing something that the others wanted both materially and politically, first by focusing on the defeat of Nazi Germany and eventually putting the squeeze on the Japanese Empire. They may not have completely agreed with each other ideologically or personally, but they had something that the others needed for the greater purpose of defeating the Axis.

The US, under Roosevelt, saw the threat of Nazi Germany but didn't quite jump into the war until Pearl Harbor. Before that, though, they supplied Britain and the Soviets with materials such as food, vehicles, etc. under Lend-Lease.

Britain saw its colonies in the Far East threatened by Japanese aggression and at home and was under attack by Japan's ally, Nazi Germany. They continued to fight the Luftwaffe and were aided by supplies from the US.

The Soviets were under massive attack by the time 1941 came around because of Operation Barbarossa. They accepted aid from the US and bore the brunt of Hitler's armies until a second front could be opened up by Britain, the US, and other Allied nations in the West on D-Day in 1944.